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Standard Bank Mozambique offers services to pay for Chinese goods in local currency

Importing companies in Mozambique can purchase products in China and pay them in national currency, as part of a service to convert renminbi into meticais, which is now provided by Standard Bank Moçambique, according to a statement issued in Maputo.

The bank said in the statement that the importer thus avoids additional exchange costs resulting from cross-currency exchange when payment is made in dollars and offers access to more competitive prices on imported goods.

“The bank has a privileged position to assist businesspeople from Mozambique with interests in China and vice versa, given its strong link with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the largest Chinese bank, which has had a 20.1% stake in Standard Bank Group since 2008,” Standard Bank said in the statement.

China’s trade with Mozambique in January/February totalled US$ 270 million (-1.44%), with China selling products worth US$164 million (-10.30%) and buying goods in the amount of US$105 million (+16.51%).

This same service is already provided by the Société Générale Moçambique bank, which offers its business customers the possibility of paying for orders placed with companies in China directly in renminbis, the Chinese national currency.

The French group entered Mozambique in 2015 when it concluded the acquisition of a 65% stake of the capital of Mauritius Commercial Bank Mozambique (MCBM), an institution that changed its name to Societe Generale Mozambique.